You know when you say “Yes” and you think you should have sad “no”. I agreed a few days ago to something but only received the books a day ago. On Thursday I’ll be  reviewing these two books on Simon Mayo’s book review programme on BBC Radio Five.  One is four hundred freakin pages long and the other is six hundred.  One thousand pages in three days. With Notes. With freakin notes.   Though it’ll be broadcast nationally From thursday you’ll be able to here it online   here.  Today I finished  Sam Bourne’s Last Testament and  read  half of Lesley Pearsons  Faith. They are both very successful authors.

The books have been called Summer Reading, the kind of books you take on holiday. Holiday Reading. But that doesn’t make sense to me, “Holiday Reading”. For me reading is holiday:  a place for the imagination to take flight, for ideas to be challenged and for enjoyment and pleasure.   To assume that it should be any different when you are on holiday is just plain wrong.

I won’t tell you what I think of the books. I’ll share it on the programme.   The other
reviewer is the one time editor for Cosmopolitan and now editor of Elle. Or is it the other way round?   What’s very scary about reviewing on this programme in particular  is that the authors will actually be there in the studio!   Sam Bourne is a pseudonym for the brilliant journalist Jonathan Freedland. He’ll be there, so too lesley Pearse for her book Faith. You can google them if you like. 

From 6am to 6pm I lock myself into these books. There’s a call at the front door. It’s the journalist and Aida and Omar –  the  hippest brother and sister combo I have ever met.  Omar suggests a Vietnamese on Kingsland road and after some hilarious parking attempts we arrive in the early evening.  We eat and laugh our way through gorgeous Vietnamese food.  At one point I’m crying with laughter.  I won’t bother lsit the  dishes, I’m too tired. I don’t write these blogs on the night you know   The service complimented the food which is how it should be. 

Kingsland road, east London,  in a summer evening, with the bright lights of the Vietnamese restaraunts is inviting. Aida and myself went outside for a cigarette. “This is great” she said “the weather food, laughter. I feel like where all on holiday”. We smoke in silence savouring the  evenings flavour of good conversationsand  warm night air.